Address violence on teachers over exams

The killing of a teacher in Kitui County, allegedly over poor performance of a school in last year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education, marks a dark chapter in the education sector.

Coming after cases of violence against teachers in Kakamega, Taita-Taveta and Homa Bay counties, it shows teachers face existential threats arising from their professional calling.

In the Kitui case, the teacher, Ms Daisy Mbathe, who taught at Ndooni Primary School, was assaulted by unruly parents, who mercilessly tortured and burnt her to death.

This is crude, primitive and criminal. For the other cases, teachers were viciously attacked and hounded out of schools by parents who never gave a thought to the real cause of poor performance of their children.

Teachers have a noble obligation not just to teach but prepare learners to excel in examinations.

Parents, communities and society at large have expectations of schools and teachers. But things are never straight.

Not all learners have the aptitude to pass exams. All schools do not operate at the same level for various reasons, including incredibly poor teaching and learning resources and, in some instances, irresponsible and unsupportive parents.

Many schools are poorly managed because the headteachers are incompetent and rudderless.

But at times it is due to disruptive parents, meddlesome boards of management and hostile communities. But there are ways of dealing with such indiscretions.

Education is everybody’s responsibility. When parents or communities realise lapses in a school, it is incumbent them to take up the matter with the BoM, which is expected to report to the local education authorities.

Provincial administration, which is represented in the board, also has process of escalating such matters and seeking recourse.

But where were these parents all along? What had they done to stem the decline in the schools? What facilitative role have they played to enhance excellence?

When we reach a situation where parents take the law into their hands and visit terror on teachers over poor performance in exams, then something has gone awfully wrong.

We demand harsh punishment for those implicated in the heinous offences.

Broadly, we need national debate on education. The fact that parents resort to violence when their children flunk in national exams is a terrible indictment of the education system.

It illustrates a perverted perspective of education. Issues of school management, role of parents and safety standards must be resolved.

The Education and Interior ministries must provide security to teachers. Schools should be made safe for both learners and teachers and intruders dealt with appropriately.